Earticle

So far, large-scale scientific devices such as nuclear fusion tokamaks and high energy circular accelerators were constructed using high-current conductors made of metallic superconducting wires. Recently, as REBCO superconducting wires usable in high magnetic fields have been developed by several companies, researches to apply high current cable type REBCO conductors to next-generation large superconducting magnets were also started. High critical currents of several kA or more in high magnetic fields have been successfully demonstrated on test samples of REBCO cable conductors by several research groups. In this review article, the main features and properties of the representative high current REBCO conductors such as CORC(Conductor On Round Core), TSTC(Twisted Stacked-Tape Cable) and RACC(Roebel-Assembled Coated Conductor), which are currently being developed at abroad are briefly introduced. Research activities of high-current density REBCO MHOS(Multi HTS layers on One Substrate) conductor at KERI, whose structure is different from other cable type REBCO conductors are also shortly introduced.

Recently, research on applying composite materials to various industrial fields is being actively conducted. In particular, composite materials fabricated by Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printers have more advantages than existing materials as they have fewer restrictions on manufacturing shape, reduce the time required, weight. With these advantages, it is possible to consider utilizing composite materials in cryogenic environments such as the application of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, which are mainly used in an aerospace and mobility. However, FDM composite materials are not verified in cryogenic environments less than 150K. This study evaluates the characteristics of composite materials such as tensile strength and strain using a UTM (Universal Testing Machine). The specimen is immersed in liquid nitrogen (77 K) to cool down during the test. The specimen is fabricated using 3D print, and can be manufactured by stacking reinforced fibers such as carbon fiber, fiber glass, and aramid fiber (Kevlar) with base material (Onyx). For the experimental method and specimen shape, international standards ASTM D638 and ASTM D3039 for tensile testing of composite materials were referenced.

The mechanical properties of REBCO coated conductor (CC) tapes under uniaxial tension are mainly determined by the thick layer components like the substrate and the stabilizer. Depending on the applications of the CC tapes, it is also needed to externally reinforce thin metallic foils to one side or both sides of the CC tapes. This study investigated the effect of additional stabilizer layers or lamination on the electrical resistivity and electromechanical properties in RCE-DR processed GdBCO CC tapes with different structures. The strain/stress tolerance of Ic in differently processed 12 mm-wide REBCO CC tapes under uniaxial tension at 77 K and self-field could be determined by the loading-unloading scheme. As a result, Sn-Cu stabilized CC tape showed a significant decrease in mechanical properties due to its soft but thick stabilizing layer. However, similar electromechanical properties have been observed on both Sn-Cu and Snstabilized CC tapes, the Ic degradation behavior was independent of whether the CC tape has an external reinforcement or different stabilizing layers.

The effect of electron beam (EB) irradiation on superconducting properties and microstructures of MgB2 bulk superconductors were investigated. At E-beam doses of 1x1016 e/cm2 and 1x1017 e/cm2, the effect of irradiation on a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of MgB2 was weak. As a dose increases to 5x1017 e/cm2, Tc decreases by 0.5 K. The critical current density (Jc) measured at 4.2 K and 20 K, and 0 T - 5 T increases slightly as exposure time increases. X-ray diffraction for the irradiation surface of MgB2 shows that the diffraction intensity of (hkl) peaks decreases proportionally as the exposure time increases. This indicates that the crystallinity of MgB2 was degraded by irradiation. TEM investigation for the irradiated sample showed distorted lattice structure, which is consistent with the XRD results. The Jc increase and Tc reduction of MgB2 by irradiation are believed to be caused by the lattice distortion.

A sorption cooler, which utilizes helium-4 as a working fluid, was previously developed and tested in KAIST. The cooler consists of a sorption pump and a thermosyphon. The developed sorption cooler aims to pre-cool a certain amount of the magnetic refrigerant of an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) from 4.5 K to 2.5 K. To simulate the high heat capacitance of the magnetic refrigerant, liquid helium was utilized not only as a refrigerant for the sorption cooling but also as a thermal capacitor. The previous experiment, however, showed that the lowest temperature of 2.7 K which was slightly higher than the target temperature (2.5 K) was achieved due to the radiation heat leak. This excessive heat leak would not occur when the sorption cooler is completely integrated with the ADR. Thus, based on the experimentally obtained pumping speed, the prediction model for the sorption cooler is developed in this study. The presented model in this paper assumes the sorption cooler is integrated with the ADR and the heat leak is negligible. The model predicts the amount of the liquid helium and the required time for the sorption cooling process. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the performance of the sorption cooler is enhanced by reducing the volume of the thermosiphon. The detailed results and discussions are summarized.

Recently, development of a cryogenic fluids storage tank for storing or transporting liquid hydrogen is actively in progress. In cryogenic fluids storage tanks, hydrogen evaporates due to the extreme temperature difference inside and outside the tank. As the mass of the cryogenic fluids changes with continuous vaporization, the fluids level also changes. Therefore, there is need for a method of accurately measuring the level change in the storage tank. In the case of general cryogenic fluids, it is difficult to accurately measure the level because the dielectric constant is very low. As a method of measuring cryogenic fluids level with low dielectric constant, it can be used an Millimeter wave (MM wave) FMCW radar sensor. However, the signal sensitivity is very weak and the level accuracy is poor. In this paper, the signal sensitivity is improved by designing the horn lens antenna of the existing 80 GHz FMCW radar sensor. Horn lens antenna is fabricated by FDM/SLA type 3D printer according to horn and lens characteristics. The horn is used to increase the signal gain and the lens improves the signal straightness. This makes it possible to measure the level of cryogenic fluids with a low dielectric constant.